


Mutual Understanding

by orphan_account



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Developing Friendships, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post TLJ, multiple POVs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-01 07:34:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13290096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: In the aftermath of Crait, Rose Tico struggles to deal with the changes in her life, and finds a connection with someone else trying to do the same.Or: Rose needs closure, Rey needs support, and they could both use a friend.





	1. Chapter 1

 

Rey glances down at the man lying on the cot in front of her. Finn is healing fast- should be back on his feet in a few days if he doesn’t keep trying to leave early. More than once he’s been ushered back into the makeshift sickbay on the _Falcon_ , each time claiming that the Resistance needs his help more than he needs to waste time lying around.

_You’re always putting everyone else before yourself_ she thinks- half exasperated, half amused. _That’s why you keep ending up like this._

But today, thankfully, it seems like he’s finally given up and is listening to doctors orders. Crashing a speeder at full power should have been the death of him, but his injuries from the battle on Crait had been miraculously light, all things considered. But the impact and subsequent events had reopened his wounds from Starkiller, and the last thing they needed was for him to permanently injure himself over a minor injury.

As she straightens the covers of his cot Rey is happy to see that Finn’s face, more often than not these days creased with worry, is serene as he sleeps. After everything he’s been through these past few days, he needs this rest. They all do.

She keeps watch in the quiet room as her mind begins to drift, memories rippling like waves in a pond.

_Ahch-To. The feel of rain, and the sea. Musty tomes in a dark temple. The Force- within her, surrounding her. Surrounding everything. The cave. Darkness. Luke. Snoke. Pain, burning and coursing through her veins.  A flash of light and lifeless eyes. An offer-_

She looks down and realizes her hands are shaking. She feels her heart hammering in her chest and tries to compose herself. No. She doesn’t want to think about this now. She _can’t_ think about this now. She breathes deeply, willing herself to calm down.

She hears the door behind her opening slowly, but Rey doesn’t turn around as tentative footsteps come across the room to join her at Finn’s bedside.

“How is he?” asks Rose uncertainly.

“Should be back on his feet tomorrow if he doesn’t do anything stupid.” Which, knowing Finn’s stubborn temperament, will be a miracle.

The mechanic sighs in relief. “That’s great. He’s been so restless these past few days.”

“He feels like he isn’t helping, like he’s useless. It’s not true, but I can’t blame him.”

Rose moves closer to Finn’s cot, a troubled expression spreading across her face. “It’s my fault you hurt yourself,” she murmurs to the sleeping man, almost too soft for Rey to hear, “…the crash, then having to drag me all the way back to the base…”

“At least he’s actually asleep for once,” Rey says lightly. “I think he finally got the message after the General threatened to chain him to the wall if he didn’t rest.”

Rose giggles and Rey turns from Finn to look at her. The mechanic is dressed in her usual scruffy jumpsuit covered in oil stains, and the few strands of black hair not covered in oil or grease stick out at odd angles. A wrench is still clutched in her hand, and she twirls it nervously as she glances over Finn. She clearly came directly from helping to repair the _Falcon_ without bothering to clean up first, Finn’s wellbeing clearly more important. Rose had gone straight back to work after recovering from her crash on Crait, just as eager as Finn to get back to helping the Resistance.

Rey smiles. She likes Rose Tico. The mechanic is an honest young woman, earnest and ready to help others in any way she can. Her selflessness comes as a welcome change after the self-serving scavengers, dealers, and thieves who surrounded Rey on Jakku. But more than anything, Rey is thankful that there’s someone else out there looking after Finn.

Rose notices Rey staring at her and glances down at her clothes, suddenly seeming to realize just how messy she is.

“Oh no, I didn’t even realize how dirty- there was this massive leak and I was the only one there to patch it so I kinda had to use my body to block it while I repaired the valve-” She pats her wet hair and groans. “Jeez…This isn’t going to be fun to wash out.”

Rey snorts. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve seen and smelled much worse.”

“Smell?” Rose tentatively sniffs her shirt and immediately wrinkles her nose in disgust. “Oh kriff! I can’t believe he hasn’t woken up from this stink. I’m so sorry, I’ll go clean up.”

She quickly turns to leave, pink with embarrassment, but Rey holds out a hand to stop her. 

 “Rose, wait. I’ve wanted to speak with you. In all the commotion these past few days I didn’t get a chance to thank you earlier.”

“Well we’ve all been so busy that… wait-” The mechanic turns back to Rey, stupefied. “T-thank _me_? For what?”

“I heard what you did for Finn, back there on Crait. You saved his life, even though it could have killed you. ” Rey glances back at the sleeping Finn. _Stupid self-sacrificing idiot._  Her stomach lurches and she feels slightly ill just imagining if he had gone through with it.

Rose reddens even further, but there is resolve in her eyes. “I couldn’t let him sacrifice himself. Not when there are people who need him. Not when I’ve already-” she stops abruptly, and fidgets with her wrench, avoiding Rey’s eyes.  “It’s not important. Anyways, I should be thanking _you_. You’re, you’re amazing! And brave! Starkiller base, fighting the First Order all by yourself, saving us all on Crait- the Resistance would be dead if it wasn’t for you!”

Rey stands and puts an arm on the smaller woman’s shoulder. “What you did was just as important as anything I’ve done. To risk your life to save someone without hesitation? That’s real bravery, and heroism.”

Rose blinks several times, lost for words. "U-uh, I...thank you..."

Rey grins, and her heart feels a little lighter. Just being around Rose has helped calm her.

“I should probably get going too. I have to meet with Poe to discuss our next move, and he’ll be on the warpath if I don’t show up... I'll see you around.”

With one last glance at the sleeping man and the still stunned mechanic, Rey leaves the room. 

_Thank you._


	2. Chapter 2

_“I heard what you did for Finn, back there on Crait. You saved his life, even though it could have killed you.”_

Rose flushes as the memory of that conversation floods her mind yet again as she tightens the last valve she’s been working on. She could hardly believe it when the most famous member of the Resistance had complimented her, and two days later it still seems like something out of a dream. Rey of Jakku, the scavenger turned Jedi, the woman who could move mountains with the Force, who faced down the First Order not once but twice, had thanked _her_. And not only that, but _praised_ her.

_To risk your life to save someone without hesitation? That’s real bravery, and heroism._

Deciding she’s done as much as she can for one night, Rose puts down her tools and makes her way through the _Falcon_ , thinking back over the past few weeks. Not long ago at all she had barely even been noticed by the others in the Resistance, just another face in the crowd, a modest tech worker on the _Raddus_. She hadn’t minded her low position- she knew her work was important to keeping the Resistance operating smoothly. And besides, she wasn’t one for the spotlight anyway. As long as she could do her part, she left the heroics to more capable hands.

Then, seemingly all at once, everything had changed. First came the evacuation of D’Qar, and the furious race of the survivors from the First Order fleet. Then had come her run-in with the famous ex-stormtrooper Finn, followed by the disastrous expedition to Canto Bight. In such a short time she’d gone from cleaning combustion circuits to facing off against smugglers, thieves and arms dealers, and had barely escaped execution at the hands of the First Order before piloting a speeder and entering the Battle of Crait head on. Now here she was- part of the last straggle of survivors. On first name basis with Resistance heroes.

_Oh Paige, can you even believe it?_

A stab of grief runs through her as she thinks of what her older sister would say were she here. Paige Tico had always been the more confident of the two, and had always believed in Rose’s abilities more than Rose herself did. She would have chided Rose for her insecurity. ‘ _Why are you so surprised? You’re a hero too Rose. As much of a hero as the rest of them._ ’

She pushes these thoughts out of her mind. She can’t think about Paige, can’t let the waves of melancholy constantly churning within overwhelm her. Everyone in the Resistance has lost someone they love, but there is no time to grieve. She needs to do her part.

The _Falcon_ is unusually quiet tonight. Though the rebels have been reduced to their smallest ever numbers, the ship is small enough that she often runs into others in the passageways. She checks the time. It’s very late; doing those repairs took much longer than she had anticipated. She should go straight to bed, but she’s absolutely parched and decides she needs to get a drink before she can do anything else.

When she gets to the small crew quarters she quickly heads to the galley and grabs a mug before rummaging through the conservator to see what’s there, vaguely wondering if she should eat something as well. There aren’t many rations left, foodstuff yet another thing the Resistance is starting to run dangerously low on. She decides to forgo the food. So focused as she is on her thirst, she doesn’t notice the other person sitting in the room partially hidden in the shadows until they speak.

“You’re up late.”

Rose jumps about a foot in the air with an undignified yelp, unceremoniously flinging the mug across the room in the process.

“Kriffing heck!”  She grips her chest as she turns around to face the other woman. “Oh, R-Rey! You scared me!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Rey apologizes, looking amused. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t think anyone else would be here this late.”

“It’s okay, just…gimme a sec,” Rose takes a deep breath. “I didn’t realize how late it was. I was fixing the power converter, lost track of time. What are you doing here?”

The other woman shrugs. “Couldn’t sleep. Thought maybe something warm would calm me relax.” She holds up a jug of milk. “Want some?”

“Okay. Oh, wait.” Rose looks around for her missing mug and spies it lodged between two of the counters. She kneels down and awkwardly scrambles to pick it up, aware of how uncool this must look. It’s now covered in dust (when was the last time someone cleaned this ship?), which she hastily attempts to rub off as she brings it to the table. Rey pours a generous amount into the mug before refilling her own.

“Thanks,” Rose takes a sip and feels the warmth immediately spread through her body.

“You can sit down if you want,” Rey says, motioning to the chair across from her. Rose sits down, slightly apprehensive at spending time with someone as famous as Rey. Other than their encounter in the sick bay, she’s only spoken with her once before.

There’s a small pause before Rey asks, “How are the repairs going?”

“Not bad. This is a pretty sturdy ship, despite its outward appearance. But since I’m the only one doing most of the repairs it can get difficult at times.”

“Would you like some help? I’ve got some experience repairing ships, and I’ve done work on this one before.”

Rose holds up her hands. “Oh no, I couldn’t ask you to do that. I’m sure you’ve got way more important stuff to be doing than helping me patch leaks and clean exhaust valves.”

Rey sighs. “Honestly, fixing leaks sounds like paradise compared to sitting in another strategy meeting with Poe and the others. All they talk about is finding a new base; I’m not really much help in that department. I’ve never been anywhere, let alone Resistance strongholds. I don’t know why they keep asking me to come.”

“You’re an important member of the Resistance.”

“I guess,” Rey replies, “But I’m more suited to the hands-on part than the leadership I think.”

“How did you join the Resistance? If you don’t mind me asking.”

 The Jedi looks pensive as she stares down at her mug. “I didn’t mean to. I never thought I’d leave Jakku, actually. But after I found BB-8 and met Finn, one thing led to another and well, here I am.”

“How _did_ you meet Finn?” A stormtrooper and a Jakku scavenger weren’t very likely to meet under normal circumstances. 

Rey takes another sip of her drink. “I tried to beat him up in the marketplace on Jakku.” Seeing Rose’s confused expression she continues quickly, “There was a slight misunderstanding. BB-8 and I were under the impression that he had hurt Poe. But luckily for Finn, we cleared things up before he got flattened.”

They both smile.

“So how do you and Finn know each other Rose?”

Rose frowns, embarrassed, remembering her own not-so-sunny first encounter with the man. “I, um, knocked him out with a stun prod and tried to throw him in the brig.”

Rey lets out a sharp laugh. “You did? Guess poor Finn can’t catch a break. What for?”

“After the evacuation I caught him trying to use one of the escape pods, and I thought he was a deserter. He was, um, actually trying to go help you.”

“And he probably tried to feed you some lie about cleaning the pod or something right?”

“I think he was gonna, until I shocked him first.”

Rey grins. “I’m not surprised. Finn’s pretty terrible at making up cover stories. He might as well have HUGE LIAR stamped right across his forehead. ”

They both laugh, and Rose is suddenly struck with the thought that this is the first time she’s been able to sit with someone and just talk in a very long time.

“How long have you been with the Resistance Rose?” Rey asks, looking at her with curiosity.

Rose tries to think back. It feels like eons since she and Paige first joined, desperate to escape Hays Minor and help fight the organization that had made their lives a living hell.

“I can’t remember exactly. It feels like forever at this point.”

“Do you ever miss home?”

Rose shakes her head. “No. Where we came from, it wasn’t home to us. Only bad memories. Pain, and sadness. Working in the mines was horrible. We would get up so early and work so late that we never saw the sun. The overseers would beat us until we could barely move, then still expect us to make our quotas. Every night we’d stare up at the stars and wish for the day we could leave it all behind for good.  Paige always said one day we’d go and help put an end to all of the suffering.”

“Paige?”

“Oh. My sister. My older sister. She was a gunner for the Resistance, on Colbalt Squadron. She was amazing. Everyone always said she was one of the sharpest shooters in the entire fleet. Even when we were kids, she could hit a mark halfway across a field at night.”

This is the first time she’s talked about Paige since D’Qar and Rose realizes she’s begun to ramble, but Rey shows no indication of stopping her.

“When we joined the Resistance and she was assigned to Cobalt, she was so happy. She told me, she said: ‘Rose, this is our chance to make a difference, for everyone back on Hays Minor’. I was so happy too, to know she would be out there fighting the First Order, helping free worlds like ours.”

“She sounds like a wonderful woman.”

“She was. She gave her all until the very end. She…she-” Rose has to stop as she feels her throat begin to constrict and her eyes start to burn. _No. Stop talking about her. Stop thinking about this-_ But it’s too late, the floodgates have opened. “She was a hero,” she finishes, her voice shaking. She's trying desperately to keep it together but her body won't listen. She feels the first tear fall and stands abruptly before the rest follow. 

“Rose?” Rey looks across the table at her with concern. "Are you alright?"

It had been such a nice conversation. It was all going so well and then she had ruined it- bringing up Paige, bringing up those memories. “I-I’m sorry, I can’t- I-I have to go.”

She exits the room as fast as she can, desperate not to let Rey see the tears now streaming down her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Honestly writing this story gives me major respect for all SW fanfic writers- there's so much lore and terminology and everything to take into account when writing for this fandom so please excuse any minor mistakes. I'm still learning! 
> 
> Come say hi on tumblr! [lavender-towns](https://lavender-towns.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and thank you for reading! I'm pretty psyched to start this new piece. Rose and Rey have a lot of similarities and honestly both of them need all the hugs in the world after everything they've been through, so here I am with copious amounts of friendship!


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